Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I recently picked up the summer edition of Cooks Illustrated "30 Minute Suppers". I love all of the cooking magazines in the America's Test Kitchen family. But, they are pricey & I'll only buy one if there are several recipes in there that I think I might enjoy. This issue in particular is jam packed with great summer dinner ideas...so, you'll probably see quite a few of them coming your way in the upcoming weeks.This recipe, for Italian style mini meatloaves, was my first endeavour. It really couldn't be any easier & is a great alternative to our usual spaghetti & meatball dinner...something I have no desire to make in this recent heat!It uses Italian sausage with the ground beef, as a spin on the classic meatloaf mix, of ground beef, pork & veal. My guys are not the biggest fans of Italian sausage...they'll eat it, but it's not their fave. So, next time I make these...and, there will be a next time!...I might omit the sausage altogether & just use ground beef. So, any of you out there who either don't eat pork, or don't care for sausage, can easily do the same.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

My mother recently made a visit out to my brother & his family, in Jackson Hole Wyoming. It's morel mushroom hunting season out there & she came home with a container for me. I love morels. But, I have never had the opportunity to cook with them fresh before. So, I was pretty excited.The problem was, I had no idea what to do with them! I wanted to make something, where they would be the highlight of the dish & not overpowered by any other flavors. I scrolled around the Internet looking for some inspiration. What stood out for me the most was the idea of making some mushroom ravioli. None of the recipes I saw really appealed to me much. So, I came up with my own, using snippets of ideas from this & that.Another inspiration, was my wanting to finally crack open my pasta machine, which I have probably owned for 10 years & never used. This was my first time making homemade pasta...and, while time consuming...it was super easy! So easy, I wondered why it's taken me so long. Our raviolis came out very rustic, as I had both the Bozos in the kitchen helping me out.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Sunday, June 20, 2010

There's this very authentic Mexican restaurant nearby our house, called Los Molcajetes. My Dh & I have been eyeballing it for months. But, I was hesitant to go, because it was so authentic & I thought the Bozos wouldn't eat a thing there. Well, we finally decided to go a few weeks ago & it was so good. The kids got steak tacos. They both love tacos, but are used to the typical American ground beef Ortega taco. So, I was surprised that they liked steak tacos so much.Ever since then, we have had steak tacos on the brain. So, I decided to make some at home. I have added some pickled red onions to this recipe, as they are fantastic with steak. I recommend taking the extra effort & making the onions...and, to serve the tacos simply, with some homemade, or store bought salsa fresca & a drizzle of sour cream.

Monday, June 14, 2010

I haven't made risotto in forever! I remember in my late teens, my Dad taught me how to make it & it was a staple for me all through college. After some time, I got a bit burnt out on it. Hence, the reason I haven't made it in ages.But, after seeing this recipe from Cooks Illustrated & I suddenly felt like making some.I love leeks & thought they would add a nice sweetness...which, they did. This recipe also uses the vegetable scraps, added to store bought chicken broth, to make a stock....something I've never tried before. I love that idea.I recommend, when you make it, to substitute whatever fresh vegetables are in season. Right now, these are perfect.

Friday, June 11, 2010

A few weeks ago, I talked about how I finally purchased an ice cream machine. I am so glad I did! It's been a blast making ice cream with & for the kids.I stumbled upon these brightly colored ones from Sur La Table & couldn't resist making them a "Kitchen Tool of the Week".It seems that they are not as expensive as they once were...so, all the more reason to pick one up for this summer!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

During a recent bake sale I ran at my children's school, I met a Mom from my son's Kindergarten class. She told me that she had been checking out my blog & that she had one as well. She mentioned it was part of her gift business, which she runs out of her home.It's called Orange & Pear.So, of course, I checked it out. Her gifts are amazing! I already picked up a couple little things for myself. But, I plan to go back the next time I need a present! Be sure to check it out...there are loads of great finds!We've been in contact since then & she shared some of her recent recipe finds with me. This salad was one of them. I knew immediately that I would love it. I love wheat berries on their own & I love wheat berry salads.This one is in a class all it's own, because of the addition of chopped dates...which, is delicious! It's great by itself, as a side dish, or scooped on a green salad for a little extra protein, or fiber.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

I saw this dish in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living & got right to it. I had everything I needed to make it in the house, plus, some basil in the garden. It's a heartier version of a simple frittata. The pasta also made it more kid-friendly.It was a snap to whip up & I would imagine it would be delicious with anything creative you could throw in there.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I have to say, that typically no amount of teriyaki, garlic, ginger, soy, lime, or fresh herbs, can change the fact that I am not a big fan of flank steak.This marinade, however, has changed all that.It is fantastic! I mean, really fantastic. It's a quick, easy, cheap meal, that is certain to be a real crowd pleaser. It will absolutely stay in our backyard dinner rotation this summer.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Welcome to the newly designed {and not finished yet!} home of The Parsley Thief! Ellie, over at Rainy Day Templates, helped give me the layout I wanted...she rocks!!It will be some time before I have all the kinks worked out....and, there are many a kink. I have a lot of work to do, on my end, to finish it up. But, knowing me, I will not rest until every single one of them is done!I know some of you might think, Hey! We liked it before, why change it?Well, when I started this blog, over 2 years ago now {has it really been that long?!}, I really had no idea what I was doing. I picked one of Blogger's cookie cutter templates & tried to make it look the way I wanted it to. I liked the way it looked. But, grew bored of it & wanted it to function more the way I wanted & needed it to, but didn't know how. Since then, I have learned a bunch about it...but, still not enough to get it {blogger} to do exactly what I wanted...not without many a headache. So, I saved myself a few more headaches & got help! So glad I did!I hope you all like it as much as I do!!

Update {6/3/10}: I am hammering out some photo issues. All the pictures won't always be this big! I want some big pics, but not all this huge! Just still hammering out some kinks! Thanks all!Also, some readers are reporting that the new layout is too wide for their computer screen & that part of the title banner is getting cut off. Will be working on that as well!